Legend of Zelda: Shadow Feast
by Writrzblok
Summary: Third and final chapter added! Set after Twilight Princess. While on a journey, Link stumbles upon a mysterious town with a horrific secret. Rating increased for intense violence.
1. A Terrible Secret

Legend of Zelda: Shadow Feast

Link, Zelda, the Kingdom of Hyrule are the property of Nintendo Inc.

She'd never escape. The horse's hooves would never be fast enough to carry her away through the night. However, she would rather die than turn back. "CLARA!" a voice in the night shouted. She didn't dare look back. That's how it gets you. The other children that tried to escape must've looked back, let their fear overcome them. It wouldn't happen to her.

They had to be stopped. There was no other way. Clara kept to the main road but pushed her horse faster, screaming out "HYAH!" with urgency. The wind picked up, changing its direction to blow against her face with blinding ferocity. Holding her arm in front of her face, she could barely see where she was going.

Clara saw it again; that which cursed her and held her in fear's unforgiving grip since her sixth birthday. On her left arm she bore the print of a claw burned black into her skin. They branded her with it upon the beast's request, she's sure of it. To let it know which children would be ripe for it to…to…

Tears welled up against her wind-stricken face, blinding her even more than the sharp breeze. The horse's hooves continued to clomp down the road, hopefully taking her even closer toward her destination. Maybe she could find help in the territory of Hyrule. It is said the princess there, Zelda, is very wise and compassionate. Perhaps she can help her.

Suddenly a sharp pain struck Clara's left leg, pinning her leg against the horse's side. She let out a horrified scream, which was silenced quickly by something slicing the back of her neck. Her arms fell limp as she slipped off the horse, collapsing onto the ground, tumbling to a halt on the main road while the Horse rode off in frenzy.

She heard the sounds of bushes being pushed by, twigs snapping. The darkness of night above her became covered by two shadowy figures. Blood loss made her head swim; her limbs were out of her control. Clara's hair dangled while her head and neck slumped down. She was being taken back home. The beast would have her and her tears would never stop again.

* * *

He woke up to the sound of a horse whinnying in the distance. He had secured Epona to a tree, so there was no chance of her getting away and causing such noise. Wiping away the sleep from his eyes, he saw a brown-haired horse slowly galloping into his campsite. Its left side was covered in blood. Like something had shot it with an arrow or penetrated it with a sword. Seeing the saddle on top put the pieces together. Someone was riding, and an arrow had caught their leg, puncturing the poor animal. It collapsed at the dying campfire, taking in deep breaths which no doubt causing it even more pain. 

Link quickly went to his backpack and flung it open. He began rummaging through his inventory of arrows, bombs, his fishing rod, claw-shot gauntlets and lantern to find a bottle of red healing potion he had bought while on his last visit to Hyrule. With haste, he ran over to the horse and poured the liquid onto the wound. Link began petting the horse's mane in an attempt to calm it down while the potion did its work.

Who could do something so vile to such a fine animal? The coat was shiny to the eyes and soft to the touch. Its large, strong frame suggested it didn't want for food or drink. The outlining of its muscles indicated he was definitely not out of shape. Yet someone brought harm to the owner of a horse like this, as well as the horse itself.

The horse began to slowly rise to its feet. He tightened his grip on the reins and stroked the side of the horse's face. What reason would someone have to attack the owner? An expert archer like himself could eliminate a rider without causing any damage at all to the opponent's steed. The very least he could do is return the horse to where it came. Leading over to Epona, he secured the second horse to the same tree. Link picked up his backpack and slung it onto his faithful friend. After securing his bow, quiver, Master Sword and shield onto his back, Link untied Epona and then his new equine friend.

He put on his large green cap and fastened one hand holding a rope tied to the reins of the second horse. Slowly, he led Epona onward with the second horse in tow. Link decided to retrace the steps of the formerly wounded animal to where it came from. Judging from the wound, it can't have traveled too far. Yet, the nearest town on the map was the Kakariko Village to the west about a week's ride at the most. It seemed quite odd that this horse would seemingly come from nowhere. Onward, he pressed, tracing the horse's prints through the forest road.

* * *

Sassy wiped down the bar and poured herself another cup of ale. She knocked them back fairly regularly, especially in the morning. Her long red hair sat on her broad shoulder in twin twisted pigtails, tied with black bows. She put her drinking cup away and walked from behind the bar to clean the tables for afternoon business. After all, she'd tended bar at Sassy Spirilla's since the town of Elcia was founded twenty years ago and she always made sure her break time was an hour long, giving her time to prepare meals and clean the tables. She'd be vexed if she would start slacking off now. It was problematic since Clara never showed up to help her wash the dishes. 

Sassy took a look outside her window and started to see two men walking into the town temple. It was a sterling, almost immaculately white building whose lone bell tower surveyed the entirety of the village. The leader of the town council, Archbishop Koroy Okan, had led a seemingly peaceful town. The children didn't misbehave and always did what their parents told them and she seemed fine with that.

When she started, the farmers would do their best to cultivate a good crop, but the rations were never enough, leading many of the town's finders to be stricken with famine and starvation. Elcia was in danger of going under before it could even be found on the map.

Then for some reason, eight months after the town was founded, the crops began to grow. Town prosperity was at an all-time high and many people were excited that it could mean trade and commerce connecting into the Eldin, Faron and Ordona provinces in the western territories. Perhaps they could also enter trade talks with the fabled Zora and Goron territories as well.

Elcia, however, never seemed to take in that many visitors. They either seem so taken in by the town that they couldn't help but settle down or simply left and never pass through again. Every time folks would pass by, they always remarked that they had never seen a town marked for this territory on any map in this continent.

Also there were times, late at night, when the temple bell would chime, rousing Sassy from her sleep. Her heart would sink whenever that blasted bell would ring. Last night, for example, it had rung out more frantically than she had ever heard before. What in the blazes could have troubled the bishop so?

That was enough time fancying the situation that caused the haste chiming of such a massive instrument. Sassy had to get the tables set up for the lunchtime crowd. It didn't always used to be so hectic in the mornings.

"Hello?" she heard from outside the front door to the bar. The voice didn't belong to anyone she knew who frequented the morning rush. Sassy worked her stocky body around the tables with poise and grace that came from years of experience as a barmaid. Unlocking the door, she opened it and saw a strapping, fine young man in a green tunic and cap standing before her.

* * *

Link tried to hide his surprise at the size of the woman staring down at him in the face. She reminded him of the bartender in Castle Town. She towered over him, his eye line landing directly on her bosom. He quickly corrected himself, looking at her supple, yet appealing face. "Well, what brings you to Sassy Spirilla's, stranger?" the woman belted out in an unusual baritone. 

Regaining his composure, he replied, "I found this horse roaming wounded in the forest several miles out of town. I managed to heal it with some red potion and bring it back to its owner. Perhaps I could locate him here?"

"'She' is not here. In fact, she missed her shift to help me clean the dishes. I apologize for being curt with you, kind sir, but I really must get these done before the lunch crowd arrives."

"If it's all the same, would you mind some help? At least until she comes back?" Link said, removing his cap and folding it neatly into a pouch on his belt.

The bartender looked him up and down, heaved a heavy sigh and said, "Well, I am not as young as I used to be and I could use all the help I can get. Besides, I can tell you're a hard working type. Hitch your horse to the post there and get inside."

"Thank you, ma'am,"

"Call me Sassy," He sure could call her that much. He knew right away she was a take-no-guff-from-anyone type of person. Link definitely intended not to give her any. Tying Epona and the second horse's reins to the post, he dragged the water trough to their positions, allowing them access to water. Turning around, he caught two bags of oats tossed to him by Sassy from inside. "Hurry up, slow poke, we gotta move fast." She said, her voice fading into the bar.

After fastening the oat bags to both horse's mouths, Link quickly stepped into the bar. He caught a pink apron thrown at him. He quirked a brow at it but put it on before Sassy could tell him about how it was the only one she had and it was that or nothing and a trip out the front door. After securing the apron behind his back, he walked behind the bar into the kitchen in the back room.

A large black stove sat in the corner of the room with its chimney reaching the ceiling. A small frying pan laid on top of a smaller stove across the room from it. Two buckets of water sat on a countertop to the left of dishes in five stacks of ten that had scraps of egg, bacon and what looked to be pomegranate stacked on top of one another. In between the frying pan and the countertop was a wooden door with the sign "Storage" carved into it. Across the room from the countertop and next to the stove was a conveyor belt leading to the countertop behind the bar that was connected to a lever which rotated clockwise and counterclockwise to determine direction.

"Well, get a move on, son, we open in less than a minute and I'll need some clean plates to put the food on." Link heard Sassy shouting from the bar room. Without haste, he set down his backpack and weapons and went to the countertop. Grabbing a cloth from an overhead cleaning rag rack, Link submerged a dish into the first bucket, scrubbing off the scraps. Dipping it into the second bucket to rinse the rest of the traces off, he set the dish to the side.

He heard the front doors open. The mutterings and idle chit-chat of the oncoming lunch crowd began to flood the bar room. He washed and rinsed with one hand, all the while cleaning with another. Link kept at a steady pace before hearing Sassy call out, "Kid! Mind the bar for a second while I start cooking up the grub!"

Setting down a dried dish on the counter to start a second stack, Sassy stopped Link in the door and said, "I want someone up here at all times in case someone decides to skip on payment. Anyone starts to, you let me know and he'll make your workload just a little bit lighter, understand?" He nodded quickly and then she pointed to the four kegs underneath the conveyor belt mechanism. Pointing from left to right, Sassy said, "This is the ale, the drinking water, the milk and the red potion."

Directing Link's attention to the tables, the large bartender continued, "From the far left corner are tables one through four, working your way in a zigzag pattern are tables five through eleven. I'll be rolling the orders out on the conveyor belt by table number. Make sure every table pays for their meal. They don't pay, they work off their debt."

Link stared out over the crowded bar room. Almost every table was occupied. A couple of men sat in front on the bar stools. A hand slapped onto the hardwood and said, "Boy! A pint of ale and be quick about it!" Link grabbed a mug, filled it from the ale spigot and handed it to the gentleman. Another shouted, "I'll have milk and ale mix!"

From the kitchen, Sassy shouted, "Stanlos Birch, I told you! You mix drinks you pay for both milk _and_ ale!"

Stanlos, a tall, gray-haired man of considerable age and wearing an eye patch, stood from his bar stool and pointed a hook hand past Link's face and toward the kitchen. "And I told you, woman," the man replied, "I don't give a Moblin's hind end. It is two liquids poured together to make one drink. Besides, the customer is always right!"

Sassy stomped her way to the front, shoving Link aside. She stuck her face directly into the patron's. Stanlos didn't budge an inch. "Birch, you have exactly ten seconds to leave this establishment and don't come back until you get the notion that I run this bar."

Birch held up his hook next to Sassy's face and said, "I'd like to take this outside and settle it with management, if you get my drift."

Link quickly side-flipped over the bar, grabbing the man's hook, pulling it tight behind his back with the rest of his arm. He yanked Stanlos away from the bar and dragged him away out the door. Pulling him toward a wooden post, Link slammed the hook against it, deeply embedding the hook into the wood. The Hylian hero flashed a quick smile and walked back into the bar. Stanlos found himself stuck to the outside post, unable to free himself and unable to stop cursing.

Back inside, Sassy watched with wide eyes, as well as the rest of the customers, as Link nonchalantly walks behind the bar. Sassy eyes him peculiarly, saying, "Where'd you learn to do something like that, kid?"

Link shrugged, not really thinking it wise to go into how a ghost warrior from the past taught him sword fighting. He said, "Fighting always came kind of naturally to me. Oh, and my name's Link."

"It appears, Link, I came into some good fortune meeting you," Sassy said with a wink aimed at her newest employee.

* * *

The afternoon rush was over. Sassy waved out the last of the lunch crowd before locking the door. "Link," she said, "You're a lifesaver. I didn't think I could've handled that without you. I just wish I knew where Clara was, I sure could use her help."

Link wiped off a dish with a rag in the kitchen. Setting the dish on the final stack of plates, he said, "My offer to stay and help you still stands,"

"No, young man," Sassy replied walking toward him from the bar room, "I have no right to make you work here anymore than you have already. I'm sure I can find someone to work with me before dinner crowd."

"I would like to help you find Clara. It's the least I can do. What about her parents? Do you think they know where she is?"

"If anybody would know, it'd be them. But Link, I have to tell you, folks in this town aren't very receptive to strangers poking their nose around. And especially the way you handled Stanlos, he'll want to pay you back for it."

Link refused to laugh, so as not to make Sassy mad. He had faced the dark lord Gannondorf and struck him down. He had been face to face with the most hideous monstrosities imaginable and survived. It would take more than an old man with a hook hand to scare him. "Where do her parents live?"

Sassy walked Link over to the door and "They live in a small house on the south east part of town. If you don't have any luck, you can rent a room here for as long as you like."

Link put his hat on, then tipped it to the generous benefactor. It sure beat sleeping on the cold ground outside. Looking to his right, six red-cloaked men stood in a line sipping from bowls. His eyebrow arched in curiosity and he pointed at them. "Who are they?"

Sassy scoffed and said, "Those are the village wise men and the town council. They were the spiritual leaders and viziers for an old, dead kingdom."

Link spotted children of various ages running toward the crimson ministers. Narrowing his eyes, he noticed a black claw print on some of their arms. Many were simply smears made to look like claw prints. The wise men seemed to notice this, as well. They handed the bowls that they were sipping to the children with the clear black claw marks. When the children (some ranging the age of 14 to as young as 5) drink from the bowls, the claw marks seem to grow darker and more pronounced across their arms.

"Don't stare too hard," Sassy said, touching Link's shoulder, "Those wise men are far more suspicious of strangers than the town folk. Go on and take Clara's horse to her parents. I'll take your things up to your room and get you set up when you get back."

"Thanks, Sassy," Link waved as he untied the reigns of Epona and Clara's horse. He led them away into the busy afternoon thoroughfare. He minded pedestrians as best as he could. Link, however, couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of the red-robed wise men and the children clamoring for them. It sent a chill down his spine.

After he had waded through the town square, Link traveled into a large neighborhood of log cabins. A gray haired woman swept the dust off of her porch while a toddler played with a stuffed doll. She looked up with wide eyes and said, "Fuchsia? Is that you, girl?"

Link smiled, figuring that was Clara's mother. She ran up to the horse and snatched the reigns from his hand. With a bony index finger jammed into his face, she shouted, "You took my daughter's horse?! What did you do to her? What did you do to my daughter's horse, you thief!?"

A bulky man with a gray beard and gray hair upon his muscular chest stomped out into the front yard. "Selma! Calm yourself, woman!" she complied reluctantly while he barked, "Just because he returned the horse, doesn't mean he stole it to begin with. Now go tend to Clara."

"But Lukay!" she said with pleading eyes.

"NOW!" he bellowed Link felt the vibrations from the man's voice. He sure could belt out an order. Selma complied, running into the house with haste. "You'll have to forgive Selma. She is very protective of Fuchsia. Thank you for returning her. Our daughter Clara will be most pleased. Come in, sit down."

Link tied up Epona and Fuchsia to the stables on the side of the cabin. He was surprised at the invitation into the house. They didn't seem all that unwelcoming to Link. Maybe Sassy was pulling his leg. Peering through a window, he noticed a young woman coming out of a bathtub. Her skin seemed a bluish pale color and covered in black markings. Long, flowing raven-colored hair fell to the small of her back. Link oddly noticed that it would lightly ripple and sway despite the window being closed and no visible source of wind.

He tried to turn his eyes away but as he did, she held up her left leg to dry with a towel, showing a small wound. "An arrow wound?" he whispered. Turning away from the window, he looked at Fuchsia's side, where he applied the red potion. It matched the young woman's wound almost perfectly. He was almost completely certain that the pale young woman in the window was Clara. However, she seemed perfectly normal other than the wound.

"HEY!" Lukay bellowed. Link turned around to see the large older man barreling toward him, arms raised to attack. The young warrior from Ordon cursed mentally for not bringing his weapons. As Lukay's arms swung down, Link caught them. He dug a boot into the bigger man's stomach and leaned back. He flipped him overhead and sent him crashing to the ground.

Though Lukay was slow to get up, Link knew he wouldn't stay down long. He flipped into the air and let his palms touch the back of the man's head, slamming his face into the ground. Link ran toward Epona and untied her reigns quickly. He mounted her and rode off like the wind.

Lukay got up with his hand over his face and his fist pumping in the air, "YOU BETTER RUN! IF I SEE YOU AGAIN, I'LL KILL YOU!"

Link whipped the reigns on Epona, letting her speed through town. Villagers stopped in their tracks and looked at him. To Link, it seemed like he was riding through the town stark nude. What seemed most chilling was the fact that the children lent him their gaze, as well. Some dropped the dolls and toys in their hands and gave him their undivided attention. He was beginning to think that this town had more secrets than it let on.

Parking Epona at Sassy's, he knocked on the door and hoped that Sassy would let him in. The door opened and he burst through quickly. "Thanks Sassy," he said. When the door slammed shut, he turned to see one of the red-robed ministers holding the door shut. Sassy was laid prone on the floor, unconscious.

He towered over Link by three feet and was slender like a post. The crimson hood covered over jet black hair. "Welcome, outsider. I am Koroy Okan. Archbishop of Elcia. Leader of the town council."

"What can I do for you, Archbishop?" Link said as his fists rose defensively.

"You can lower your guard, my friend," Koroy said, looking toward Sassy. "Sassy merely slumbers. Poor woman left to fend for herself all alone in this tavern. Her childbearing years are quite behind her and she rarely leaves. It's a wonder she hasn't gone mad from loneliness. She really could use a break."

"What do you want?" Link said, narrowing his eyes.

"To merely issue a formal welcome from the Council and the church of our quaint little village."

Link lowered his fists and said, "Speaking of which. I noticed that this town doesn't appear on my map. I like to keep it up to date when it comes to my location and surroundings. I also didn't see any road signs letting me know a town was anywhere near here. I would to think people would want to know about Elcia. You'd get a lot more commerce that way."

Koroy traversed the floor, his robe covering his footsteps almost completely. He replied, "Commercial marketability notwithstanding, we Elcians like a certain amount of anonymity. It has served us well in the past. If it is any consolation, I am of the belief that we should indeed be more inclusive. Within the coming months, we will begin trade negotiations with Hyrule and its various provinces."

"I saw you drinking something out of bowls with your fellow…uh…wise men. Pray tell, what is it?"

"It was our lunch, if you must know. We prefer soups made of pumpkin and tomato broth to the usual cutting and ripping of meat from bone. We find it distasteful to inflict harm upon animals."

"I see." Link's brow arched as he remembered the children drinking that same "soup." He said, "Do you always share your soup with the children?"

"Our deity has taught us to share our blessings with those less fortunate among us."

"One more question, what's with the black claw marks? I couldn't help but notice…"

Koroy sneered at the question. "That is not for an outsider's ears to hear."

Link shrugged and said, "Well, maybe it is something done among the kids, perhaps you have an young artist and it is some kind of trend. If that is the case, it's the strangest one I've seen in quite a while."

"Do not ask about it anymore," Koroy looked over to Link and touched his shoulder. "You have made two enemies in one day. I doubt you would wish a third." Link pulled his shoulder away and simply glared at the crimson priest. "Enjoy your stay in Elcia, young stranger." Koroy said, looking around at the mess of tables, unclean plates.

With a wave of Koroy's thin hand, the dishes were clean, the tables were set and the floor was clean. Link's eyes narrowed while Koroy opened the door and traced his fingers across a scratch mark on the door mantle, leaving deep indentations across the wood. After the strange display, he exited quickly. Sassy came to when the door shut. "Oh, my," she said, looking around. Link helped the bartender to her feet.

"Are you alright?" he said, dusting her apron and dress off.

She looked around, seeing the spotless pub and then looking at Link, saying, "I'm alright, Link. The last thing I remember was opening the door for the Archbishop and then becoming very tired. I must not have made it to bed for a nap." Looking around the spotless tavern, she said, "Did you do all this?"

"Actually…" Link began say but was cut off when Sassy kissed him.

After she released him she held his cheeks and squeezed them and said, "You are just a darling! You didn't have to do this."

Link stammered for a response but none came. He wanted to say it was the creepy, lanky archbishop that did it, but it wouldn't make sense to her.

"Did you find anything out about what happened to Clara?" Sassy said walking toward the back.

"Well, not too much before her father chased me off. Are all the young women in town pale and have black marks all over their skin?"

Sassy stopped and began to shake. "Her father ran you off, you say?"

The hero took a seat and said, "Yes. I saw her through a window while she was coming out of a bath and…"

Sassy shouted, "You what?"

"Not intentionally, it just happened by accident! I mean, I didn't see anything too…revealing, except for a puncture mark. Like from an arrow. I remembered seeing the same kind of wound on Clara's horse when I found it. That's how I knew it was Clara. But she just looked…strange."

"How strange could she look without clothes on, sugar?" Sassy replied with a smirk.

"Well, other than her pale skin and black marks…her hair was pitch black, and…it looked almost alive…"

A knock on the door broke Link's spoken description. Sassy walked over and opened the door. Her eyes grew wide and she threw her arms around an olive-skinned young blonde half her size wearing a thick, dusty brown hooded dress. Link couldn't believe his eyes, either. It was…

"Clara!" Sassy said, hugging her tightly, "I missed you, girl! You had me worried."

"I'm sorry, Sassy, I wasn't feeling right earlier but I'm fine, now." Clara replied. "I heard a young stranger returned Fuchsia. Is this him?"

Sassy pointed at Link and said, "Yeah. He took really good care of her and even took over your shift while you were gone."

Clara lent a sweet smile over to the young Ordonian and said, "Well, isn't he just the sweetest thing?"

Link stood up and said, "Nice to meet you, Clara." He turned away and held his face in his hand. What was going on? When he had seen her, she was almost completely different. What kind of sorcery was he dealing with?

Sassy said, "Your room is upstairs, the third one on the right, and feel free to ask Clara for any room service should you need anything."

He headed up the stairs, hoping he could figure all of this out soon.

The dinner rush was finished and Sassy Spirilla's began to close for the night. Clara put away the plates and silverware while Sassy made sure all rupees were accounted for. She was always good with money.

The red haired barmaid turned her gaze at Link. She couldn't help but smile at him; even when he was sitting alone at his table, deep in thought. It wasn't like she didn't believe his story about Clara having black marks and pale, almost bluish skin. The truth of the matter was, she prayed he was wrong.

Turning her eyes from Link, they met Clara, who was standing right next to her. Both women jumped, startled at each other. "Sorry, Clara," Sassy said, holding her hands up in apology.

The young woman simply smiled and said, "It's alright, Sassy. It was a trying day today, wasn't it?"

Sassy nodded fervently, yet trying to hide the panic on her face. "Yes," she replied, "Quite. I'm really tired and needing my rest. Go on home; I'll let Link know we're closed down here and to go to his room now."

Clara threw a narrow glance and a wicked smile Link's way. Looking back at Sassy, she said, "No, Sassy, I think I'll handle him personally."

Sassy chuckled nervously, stepping into Clara's way, saying, "You've been shooting glances and looking at the men-folk very strangely all night. Plus when Lawny Cuttlebottom patted your backside like he usually does, you held his hand there by the wrist instead of slapping him seven sides of silly like you normally do."

"Maybe I just admire the attention. I mean the way you cover your top-shirt like you do tells the men you just are not the woman you used to be."

"That's another thing. You have been constantly back-talking me and shirking your duties unless I'm absolutely right on top of you. It's as if you just started all over again."

The girl's eyes locked onto Link. Barely looking like she was paying attention, Clara said through a thin smile, "I'll do better at it, tomorrow, Sassy."

Sassy grabbed Clara by the arm and turned her face to face. She began to say, "I don't know what's gotten into you, but…"

Clara's eyes turned golden and her face became pale blue like Link had said. Her voice lowered to a whisper which sounded like a legion of whispers. "Don't be coy. You know exactly what's gotten into me."

Sassy released her quickly. The blood fled quickly from her face and her eyes grew wide in terror. "No." she gasped. "It's im..impossible…"

Clara continued, saying, "The Archbishop took care of your little sanctuary mark on the door mantle. Like such paltry magic could keep him out. Or us."

"What do you want?" Sassy said, tears almost welling in her eyes.

Clara's luminescent eyes pointed to the side, and her head tilted back. "We want him."

"You never stepped foot onto my property to get a sacrifice before. What makes him different?"

"We sense something in him; a connection to power without equal that our lord must tap into. Plus, he is rather handsome."

"If you wanted him so badly why didn't you take him in the street?"

Clara stepped into Sassy's face, despite the height difference, the barmaid was visibly cowering. The young girl said, "We have our reasons. Know this. We have permitted you to stay on our land for as long as you stayed out of our way. We even let you put up a sanctuary mark on your door mantle as a show of good faith at the necessity of your trade. However, should you oppose us in this you will face the full wrath of our lord's fury. We want Link. We will have Link."

Suddenly, a blade flashed itself against Clara's throat. To her right, Link stood, his sky-blue eyes locking with her golden orbs. His sword was drawn. He was ready to strike at a second's notice. He said only seven words, "You know what this is. Leave. Now."

Clara froze. Her mouth went dry at the sensation she felt from the blade. Sassy was also frozen in place. She had her eyes completely fixated on Link. She had no idea he had even left, let alone grabbed a sword. Another surprising development was the fact that Clara's glowing eyes showed something she'd never seen in all her years in Elcia.

Clara's golden eyes showed fear.

"H-How did you know?" Clara said with a tremble in her voice.

"I saw Sassy's face looking as white as a sheet. She was petrified. But why would she be petrified of a young woman who is half her size unless what I saw was the true you. Let us just say that I saw you...in a compromising position earlier today."

"So you are the peeping tom. I should be flattered," Clara said, turning to face Link. Her hands came to the neckline of her dress as she continued, "Did you like what you saw?"

Link held the Master Sword close to her throat, saying, "Do not move unless it is out that door."

The girl's hair turned from blonde to dark black within seconds. Markings similar to what Link had seen earlier covered her face, hands and neckline. With a wide smile, filled with long, razor-sharp teeth, she said, "Want to see it again?"

Sassy screamed and ran as Clara ripped her dress off. Instead of a naked female form, a warped shadow-like form covered her from head to toe. The golden glare from what was once human eyes narrowed into thin yet monstrously long slits. Her black hair coiled and swayed behind her like snakes from her head. Any semblance of Clara disappeared behind a cloak of darkness. The teeth parted when it roared, chilling Sassy's blood, freezing her in her tracks.

Link, unfazed by the transformation, swerved underneath a swatting motion by the shadow-Clara and rolled underneath. Springing into the air, he spun his blade around, slashing the monster across the chest. It flew into the air and crashed onto a table, breaking it. Link stepped quickly onto the bar and leapt forward. With a flip, he stabbed down into the beast's heart (or where he guessed was its heart).

The shadow-beast let out a painful roar directly into Link's face, causing him to shield his face from the sound. It fell away slain, laid amongst the debris of a broken wooden table. Link flipped backwards, pulling the Master Sword out of its temporary sheathe. With a deft motion, he sheathed the blade behind his back and ran toward Sassy behind the bar.

"Link…" Sassy said, "Link…"

He helped her to her feet but afterward, she shoved him away. "Sassy, what is wrong?"

"What have you done?" Sassy said, looking at the black monstrosity, which was beginning to lose its form.

A hand, brightly lit and transparent, emerged from the shadow form. It almost seemed to crawl and climb out of the monster. Clara's form floated out of the now vanished shadow creature. Sassy approached it slowly and held her hand out. "Thank you," the apparition said reaching out as well. Before their hands could meet, Clara's lighted form vanished from sight.

Link looked at the scene in surprise. He almost didn't see Sassy's hand slapping hard against his face. The force nearly knocked him off his feet as he said, "What was that for?"

"You have no idea what you have done! What you have brought onto my home! My HOME!" she screamed.

"What did I do wrong, Sassy, just tell me!"

"You saved Clara!"

With an arched brow and incredulous stare, Link shrugged at the notion. "What? I saved her and that's a bad thing?"

Walking past him, Sassy stomped up the stairs with the young hero close behind. She stopped in front of an unmarked door and said, "You just don't understand, do you?" Link shook his head in response. "Here," she nodded toward the door. "I'll show you why you just made the biggest mistake of your life." Sassy unlocked the door and entered the room Link followed immediately after her.

* * *

Hieroglyphs covered the left-hand wall. To Link's right were illustrations of young children's faces that filled the wall. Directly in front of him sat a desk with scrolls, unrolled parchment and an ink well with a quill coming out of the top. The hero's eyes squinted in confusion while the uncomfortable silence persisted. 

The barmaid sat down at the desk and gave a hefty sigh. She said, "Twenty years ago. Elcia was born. Townspeople from various other provinces moved into these woods to govern their own affairs. They thought that Hyrule was too stuffy and class-oriented. Out here, the townsfolk would grow fresh crops and live in peace, without such things like high taxes, business permits, insurance and hierarchy to get in the way of decent people doing business."

Looking out the window, Sassy continued the story, "However, while buildings and houses were being raised and fortified, the crops didn't flourish. No one knew what to do. Despite the ground being fertile and teeming with life, it refused to bear good crops. Nothing would grow. Elcia was on the verge of ruin before it even got started. That is, until Koroy Okan, a young priest from the Gerudo Mesa came to town. He and his 'brothers' came to give aid, or so they said, by praying to their 'god'. Within days, the crops flourished. Elcia was full of hope and promise once again.

"The priests then left town. As quickly as they left, the crops began dying. Even the crops we already harvested from the ground shriveled and withered to nothingness. This forced the town to send seven representatives to go out in search of the priests and bring them back to stay. Fortunately for us, they hadn't gotten too far. We offered them all the money we had to give but they refused. Koroy himself told them that they would come back only if he and his brothers would be the governing council and as such, the town would offer up sacrifices to their lord. Any child born with a black claw mark was to be sacrificed at their lord's discretion."

Link leaned against the wall with his arms folded. "So you went from one rule to another."

Sassy put her head in her hands and let out a whimpered sob. She turned to the young man on the other side of the room listening to her story. Sassy said, "The delegates from the town talked it over. They all decided it was too high of a price to pay, even for the good of our town. However, there was one holdout; someone who had nothing to lose from the deal. She was a selfish woman who wasted her young life looking for a husband but found nothing but friends and pigs. She didn't have children, nor had she ever been able to conceive. So she wondered, why not take the deal?

"The other delegates were adamant in opposing the idea. However, under the cover of night, the foolish woman snuck into Koroy's camp and consented to the deal with a handshake and a blood signature. When the document was signed, his brothers had vanished from the campsite. By the time she returned to the other delegates, she found them all dead. Torn apart like gift-wrapping on a child's birthday. It was then the foolish woman realized her folly. The terrible price for the prosperity of our town had only begun.

"Koroy Okan returned to town and presented the blood-sworn document His brothers disguised themselves as the men they murdered. Many accepted the deal, not knowing the truth about the monstrous priests. The way they saw it, giving their god sacrifices was the only way to provide plentiful crops for the town and keep Elcia alive. Those who rejected the deal were publicly executed by Koroy Okan's priests, who revealed themselves and eaten the dissenters. Them, and their familes, as well were taken into their darkness. All because of a stupid woman who, in bitterness, signed a deal with the devil, Elcia has been cursed ever since."

Link's eyes narrowed at Sassy when she finished her tale of misery, evil and deception. He shook his head, running his hand over his face. "It was you, wasn't it?" Link said under his breath, "You were the woman who signed the deal." Sassy began to sob uncontrollably, covering her mouth with her tear stained hands.

Sassy sniffled and said, "There's…There's not a night that goes by that I don't regret what I did. So, I built this tavern and ran it myself so I can take my mind off of it. But every time the church bell tolls. I see the flashes of the dead delegates. I also come into this room and look at each picture of the children in town to see which of the chosen are taken. Every picture of sacrificed children are marked with an X. Notice something peculiar?"

Upon further inspection, the hero's brows raised and he said, "Clara's not among the chosen."

"But her younger sister is," Sassy pointed to a picture of an infant girl, "So why would they take someone they did not mark?"

"My guess is that Clara was trying to stop them. When she failed, she took off to Hyrule to find help. But the dark monsters cut her off in the forest. I found Fuchsia wounded in the woods a few miles from the forest ahead of town. She must have run into the arrow that struck her somewhere in the forest."

"It doesn't make sense that the monsters would use an arrow to stop her. They would've used their powers."

Link put his hand under his chin and closed his eyes, concentrating. "Then who?" he said, "Who would've done this?"

Suddenly, the door was shattered into splinters by the spiked ball of a mace. A dozen villagers stood in the doorway immediately following the destruction. Lukay, Clara's behemoth father waded through crowd and said, "We did."

To be continued...


	2. Deal of the Damned

"Lukay…" Sassy said with narrowed tear-filled eyes, "Clara was not chosen with the mark. Why would you attack your own daughter and then feed her to the beast?"

The large fellow gripped his mace tightly and said, "She attempted to bring in outsiders by fleeing to Hyrule! We came to his forsaken land to do away with the troubles of being under the boots of those snotty Hylians. Now her troublesome ways have brought this unfortunate lad into this. She has cursed him along with us."

"Don't talk about Link when you gave up your own child to appease Koroy Okan and his master!" Sassy shouted.

Spittle flew from the gargantuan man's mouth as he spoke. "Only if you won't speak of how you sold our children into being food for the beast! Clara tried to interrupt the sacrifice last night! When Koroy Okan's dark lord marked Clara for her impudence, the decision was made for us. She had to be stopped before she could reach Hyrule. She fought and escaped. We laid in wait when she rode along with Fuchsia…"

"And you shot her down. Your own daughter," Link said.

"Don't presume to judge me, boy!" Lukay said, holding a pointed finger at the green-clad hero. He began tearing up as he spoke, "I shot an arrow into her neck. I paralyzed her body so that when the beast took her…she…wouldn't feel a thing."

"You miserable piece of Moblin dung!" screamed Sassy. She began to charge but Link held an arm out trying to hold her back. "If you loved your daughter, you would've ended it for her right then and there. Not have her body warped into one of those…monstrosities!"

Lukay's belly bounced with his boisterous response, "I'm supposed to take parenting advice from some barren barmaid who helped sign our town over to a dark god?"

Link reached back and gripped his sword, preparing to draw it for battle. But then he heard five bowstrings being stretched from behind the massive mace-wielder. "I know first hand that you're quick, young man. But do you think you're good enough to hold off five arrows at the same time?" Lukay said, stepping behind the archers to allow them to fire.

Link narrowed his eyes, gripping tighter on the handle of his blade. With a move swift and smooth like an animal about to pounce, Link drew his sword. The arrows let fly. Twirling the Master Sword in a spinning motion, every arrow was deflected. Two arrows embedded themselves into the wall; one hit the ceiling, another hit a villager's foot. The last arrow was caught in Lukay's massive hand before it could connect between his eyes.

Sassy opened a drawer on the desk behind her and pulled out a bomb. Lighting it, she tossed it near the group of villagers, forcing them to scramble downstairs. She said, "That bomb won't go off. I poured out the explosive powder years ago. They'll be back any second." Sassy grabbed the chair she had sat in while telling her story to Link and threw it through the window of the den. Grabbing Link by the collar, she made Link follow the chair's path. He looked up at Sassy while she stood behind the windowsill.

"Jump down! You can get out too!" the young hero shouted, getting to his feet.

She looked back, hearing the angry mob realizing the bomb was a fake and becoming riled with anger. "No," Sassy said, "Trust me; it'll be more dangerous if I come with you. You're the first person to ever come here that has a chance to destroy this evil. You must drive out Koroy Okan and his dark god from this land! Avenge those who've fallen into darkness because of my foolish, bitter young heart."

"Sassy!" Link shouted. He watched her turn to face the horde of villagers before her and an arrow suddenly appeared, bursting through her back. Sassy's body fell away from the window in a slump. "NOOOOOOOO!!!!" he cried out.

The massive figure of Lukay, Clara's father and the evident leader of the village mob exploded through the wall. Link dove out of the way of the behemoth landing on his feet in a squat. As the debris from the wall collected on the ground, Lukay rose to his full height and said, "You're coming with us. Koroy and his dark god want you."

The young hero of Hyrule slammed his shield into Lukay's gut, doubling him over. Link flipped over the man's massive back and drove a deep slash into the man's skin, causing a deep, bloody wound. As the gigantic man bellowed in pain, Link drove a hard kick behind one of his opponent's tree-trunk like legs, dropping him to his knees. "That was for Sassy! This…" Link shouted while swinging his shield into the side of Lukay's face, "is for Clara."

The humongous goliath who led the village mob fell to the ground unconscious. His back wound profusely letting blood seep into the ground. Link wiped the blood from his blade on his shirt sleeve and then sheathed his weapon. Footsteps from his left alerted Link to several villagers with clubs charging at him. Upon seeing their fallen leader and Link's left hand gripping his sword tightly and ready to strike, they paused.

The young man narrowed his eyes at them. Cowards, the lot of them, he thought. Especially that mastodon Lukay for giving both his daughters up even when one wasn't chosen. Regardless of Sassy's mistakes, they had no excuse to go along with such a heinous deal. Survival doesn't make it right to sacrifice children to some dark entity and his power hungry prophet. If anything, Link owed Sassy the chance to make things right. To break the curse and kill the evil that infested the town.

Link said, "I don't want to end you. So don't force me to."

The men dropped their clubs immediately and rushed past Link to their wounded leader. Link released his grip on the Master Sword and ran away.

* * *

Koroy Okan opened two ten foot double doors and entered into a candle-lit stone room. Black paint covered the walls and red translucent curtains hung before an obsidian altar. This was the room in which the children would be sacrificed to his lord and master. The dark god which has cursed Elcia to giving over its children who have been marked in return for survival and freedom

Carved into the front of the altar is an armored figure. Spikes protruded from its helmet, shield and shoulder armor. In its right hand was a massive sword with a jagged tip. The center of the sword was empty, making a long, narrow hole within the blade.

The crimson clad clergyman knelt before the altar and said, "Master. I bring you news."

The carved figure in the stone moved, swinging its sword at Koroy Okan and with a choked whisper, replied, "What news, my prophet?"

"Link has escaped the villagers. He intends to come to us."

A tendril from the stone reached out and wrapped itself around Koroy Okan's throat, causing him to gag and gasp. "FOOL!" the figure shouted, "The villagers were supposed to bring him in unarmed and helpless! Now he will come here and surely spell our doom!"

The minister gasped out, "Master, perhaps this will play into our hands…"

The tendril around Koroy Okan's throat tightened, threatening to crush his voice box and then his neck. "You may be right. See to it that Link is given a proper welcome. I shall gather more minions to further aid you in strategic points throughout the dungeon leading here."

The black tendril withdrew from Koroy Okan's throat and retreated back into the obsidian altar. As the crimson-robed priest took in grateful breaths, he said, "By your word, my lord."

As Koroy Okan fled the room to prepare for the hero's arrival, the figure in the obsidian said, "The power…it calls to me…beckons me to possess it."

* * *

The hero from Ordon squatted in the bushes several feet away from an open field. In the clearing, there stood a Fortress-sized chapel on the outskirts of Elcia. The outside was white-painted brick with a sloped wooden roof. Overall the structure stood like a mansion or a fortress. The walls, at lengths up to thirty feet, barred intrusion by ground assault. Along the corners of the walls stood perches where it seemed two red-robed ministers were standing watch.

Pulling out his quiver, Link readied an arrow with a bomb strapped to the end. He took aim at a shed a hundred feet away. The arrow flew through the air and hit its target. Wood splintered and the boom of the explosion echoed through the night air. The two watchmen left their stations immediately to check on the damage. Shouldering his quiver and grabbing one claw-shot gauntlet, Link sprinted over to the watchtower furthest from him.

He aimed to the ceiling of the watchtower and fired the claw. Attached to the claw was a chain, which pulled him up when the gauntlet began to retract. When Link reached the watchtower floor, he disengaged the claw-shot and put it back into his pack. With haste, he peered into the open courtyard of the chapel fortress.

The courtyard was covered in a garden. Lilies, roses, petunias and tulips beautifully decorated the courtyard grass in seven rows cordoned off by walkways and rope. Among the beautiful flowers, however, man-eating deku baba plants laid in wait. They were ready to feast on any one who'd dare intrude into the garden. Link ran quickly along the upper level to avoid going through the garden. He quietly opened a door and disappeared from sight before the crimson priests could notice he'd slipped amongst them.

After lighting his lantern and fastening it to the back of his belt, Link stepped quickly and quietly through a hallway. Little sound emanated from his footsteps. His heart, however, raced a mile a minute. Despite the danger he was in, Link couldn't help but feel excited, almost thrilled to be staring death in the eye once again. Making his way down a winding flight of stairs, he paused. The sound of crying caught his ear, coming from the bottom of the stairs. As he reached the ground floor, Link turned to a large wooden door immediately on his right.

Once he entered, he saw twenty small beds lined up in four rows of five. Within each bed laid a peacefully sleeping child. Link, once again, heard crying coming from within the room. Looking around, he couldn't see where it was coming from. A small hand reached at his tunic and pulled at it. His eyes turned down to a blue-skinned little boy. Tears of light ran down his cheek from his golden glowing eyes. "Feed me" said the child, bearing a grin of the same razor sharp teeth that the beast which took Clara's form had brandished.

One after another, the children, some appearing almost five years old, others in their early teens, began waking up. Golden glowing eyes aimed themselves directly at Link. Their youthful faces became hideous, inhuman, and deformed with living black tendrils for hair. Their hands turned into outstretched claws and multitudes of tiny, monstrous teeth revealed themselves. Their voices turned into shrieks of hunger. They were not human children. They were shadow beasts. In that terrible moment, Link knew nothing could save them but death.

Link, frozen in horror, screamed out when one of the children had bitten his right arm, drawing blood through his arm gauntlet. The pain snapped him out of his fear-induced paralysis and he swung his wounded arm back. He slammed the tiny monster against the wall, letting it fall to the floor. He'd heal later, he thought as he drew the Master Sword and his shield. With a spinning attack, he slew several approaching creatures. Twirling his blade into a move called the mortal draw, he dispatched two more.

Two of the little monsters leaped onto the walls. In unison the little shadow beasts said, "We're his children! His beloved! We hunger!"

Link's eyes narrowed and he let out a primal scream, swinging his sword around, slashing and cutting down monster after monster. He ducked under an attack by one, slicing the creature behind it in half while spinning backwards and splitting the returning creature in mid-strike. He swerved sideways and spun upwards, striking down several more. It came down to the last two in the room and Link let out a yell, hurling his shield like a bladed discus at one monster, decapitating it bloodlessly while he slammed his blade down onto the final little monster, ending the fight.

The room became illuminated by the spirits of the children that formally inhabited the slain shadow beasts' bodies. Sheathing his weapon, Link looked around at the young faces of the children he had freed with is blade. He knew that it was either him or them and that they were completely controlled by the shadow beasts. The children had no choice in the matter. It was all the work of Koroy Okan's dark lord who fed on these poor children. Tears welled up in his eyes and he dropped to his knees. He buried his hands in front of his face and wept.

A hand of light touched his shoulder and said, "Don't cry, mister." Link, through bloodshot tear-drenched eyes, he saw a little girl who was no more than ten looking at him with a kind smile. "We're free."

The hero began thinking it over. Like the beast that took Clara's form and soul. Sassy kept remarking that Clara wasn't acting quite like herself. Because it wasn't, he thought, these are not humans like in the village. They are monsters who prey on the innocent and consume children's bodies and steal their souls. Link clenched his fists in anger and stood up. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he saw the children wave as they vanished. The little girl who had touched him whispered, "Thank you" the instant before she disappeared.

Reaching into his pack, he pulled out a bottle of red potion. After two or three gulps, he finished the concoction. Within seconds, the wounds on his right arm began to heal. Only scars, scratches and trace amounts of blood remained on his arm gauntlet. Link opened the door and left the room the likes of which he prayed he would never see again in his life.

* * *

Koroy Okan hovered in front of the obsidian altar. His body was held up by his wrists and ankles with the black tendrils protruding out of the stone. The minister's dark lord bellowed out, "HE SLEW MORE OF MY CHILDREN!!!!"

With a whine-soaked plea, the minister said, "Master, I'm sor---"

"Tell me something of which I am not already aware!" shouted the dark lord.

"He snuck in through a distraction, sire! We had no idea he would attack the nest first, sir."

"Chances are, he didn't, either; which means he has unwittingly destroyed a years worth of harvesting! Those souls provide the energy with which I can communicate with your world! You have failed me yet again, Koroy Okan. I shall now take matters into my own hands!"

"But, lord, how?"

"I will channel my remaining energy and power into a vessel of my choosing. The transference is one way and once completed it can never be undone. All of my dark magic and evil power will flow through the veins of my chosen body. I had wished to enter this realm fully corporeal but the boy has now made it impossible. So now it's time to enact my backup plan."

The eyes within the helmet of the carved figure glowed bright red. The black bonds that held Koroy Okan in mid-air vanished. The red-robed slender minister landed with a thud onto the stone floor. A growling voice chanted out, "Let she who sealed another's demise, in blood signed to me rise. My power, my life to her I give, Vessel, your lord commands you, LIVE!" A crimson shockwave rumbled through the room, causing the entire dungeon and the fortress above to shake.

* * *

Link ran quickly through the halls, reaching a red carpeted catwalk with a side railing. Looking to his right, he saw a large sanctuary with a black statue of a fierce armored warrior. The floor was filled with wood-rotted pews. They looked like they hadn't been used in centuries. In the middle of the catwalk sat a bowl filled with lantern oil. Link thanked whatever gods were looking out for him and rushed over. He dipped the empty bottle that held red potion and filled it with oil. He then refilled his lantern to the brim before stepping away. He started to walk further along the catwalk when the earth began to quake.

Link could barely keep his footing while the building shook violently, causing him to topple over the railing. Instinctively, he reached back and fired a claw-shot to help break his fall. The item the claw clamped onto snapped on contact. He was in helpless freefall until he crashed through a pew, shattering it into splinters. He shook his head to clear out the musty wood smell and cobwebs. Suddenly two sets of doors on the north and southern end of the room flew open. The walls and floor surrounding him quickly became covered in a flood of blackness. The ceiling was enveloped as well. The only conceivable light was coming from his lantern. In the darkness, dozens of golden glowing eyes lit up.

Link drew the Master Sword and readied himself to attack. With a shout, he leaped into the air and plunged himself along with his blade into the darkness. If this was the way he would leave this world. He would bring as much company as he possibly could.

* * *

Thirty minutes ago…

The village mob had carried out Sassy's body and burned down Sassy Spirilla's. Lukay had ordered it just after they had tended his wounds and gave him red potion to heal the wounds on his back. Looking at Sassy's dead and slowly decaying body, he said, "Give her to me. I will bury her in the woods."

He had carried her body with a wheelbarrow out of town and into the pitch black night of the forest outside Elcia. It wasn't far from here that he had shot his daughter Clara with an arrow. It wasn't something he was all that proud of, despite Sassy and that boy's remarks to the contrary. He was an unofficial enforcer for Koroy Okan's dark lord. He had his share of the burden when it came to the children fed to the beast. He only wished he hadn't given him both daughters.

Lukay was getting older and slower in body and spirit. Even though the red potion had healed him, his back was still sore from the wound that green-tunic wearing punk had given him. Let the dark god deal with him. Either Link would destroy him and set them free or the dark lord would consume Link and take his power and make all kinds of trouble. Lukay found neither outcome preferable.

Lukay eventually came to a tall moss-covered tree with plenty of shading. With this, he thought, at least her body will give the tree some much needed nutrients. Taking a shovel out of the wheelbarrow, he began to dig six feet away from the base of the tree. After about four feet into digging Sassy's grave, Lukay felt the earth tremble beneath him. He stumbled forward and caught himself on the outer rim of the grave.

"What the blazes!?" he said, seeing that Sassy's body had fallen out of the wheelbarrow. He took the earthquake as a sign that he didn't need to waste any more time. Tossing the shovel out of the grave, he began to climb out until he felt a foot slam directly into his face.

The blow nearly knocked him unconscious as he hit the back of his head on the wall of the grave. Looking up, he cleared the haze from his head. His eyes grew wide as he stared into the eyes of the impossible. "S-S-Sass…" he tried to say before the shovel he had used to dig the grave was used once more to pummel him into oblivion.

When Lukay was no more, his assailant, Sassy, climbed out of the grave and began to fill the hole that Lukay had made for her. Her eyes were darker than the night that surrounded the horrible action she'd just committed. Wiping the blood off of her cheeks and licking it from her fingers, the dark lord's voice bellowed, "Sorry, Elcia. Deal's off." Sassy, the vessel of Koroy Okan's dark lord, marched into town with the shovel across her shoulder, laughing a distorted, deep inhuman laugh.

To be continued…


	3. Delivered

Stanlos Birch sat at the massive bonfire that was formerly Sassy Spirilla's. He had some good times at the bar. Hassling Sassy was chief among them. He wasn't part of the mob that had burned it down. Stanlos had a strict policy of non-interference when it came to the crimson priests and their dark, malevolent god. "Sorry to see ya go, Sassy," he said with his hook hanging in the air in a salute, "I'll miss being a pain in your hind end. You sure were a pain in mine."

With great velocity, a shovel spade buried itself into Stanlos' skull from behind him. He had never even heard the footsteps of Sassy's now possessed corpse coming up from behind him. "Now, I'm a pain in your head," spoke the dark lord with a sneer. Dropping the shovel, she walked toward the neighborhood of log cabins across the town square.

With a glee-filled smile, Dark Sassy threw orbs of dark energy into the night sky. One orb after another floated high about the homes of the neighborhood, blocking out the stars.

They had this coming, she thought to herself. They deserved every single moment of pain that has been and will be inflicted upon them. These fools left the comfort of their homes for slights as insipid as high market prices and social hierarchies? It is how societies function in this day and age.

With a smile and a snap of her cold dead fingers, the sky rained ebony orbs of dark power. Each house exploded into flames. The screams followed the explosions and persisted to the dark lord's delight.

"I wonder how our dear boy Link is faring back at the fortress. I hope my minions have made his stay enjoyable," she said turning her back to the burning town and walked towards the town limits. Each building caught flames as she walked by and snapped her fingers.

While the townspeople burn alive, the dark lord Sassy was having a ball.

* * *

Link was in trouble. He knew it from the very first blow he struck against the darkness filled with shadow monsters. He knew his chances for survival were slim to none. Unfortunately "slim" was nowhere to be found. But he'd rather die fighting than simply welcoming death's embrace. After his initial strike, he felt a slicing pain in his side.

He tore at a monster's belly with the Master Sword, slicing it in twain. He stepped on another's face and slashed two more monsters, rolling under the blows of two more while jumping up and splitting another three in half. He felt a massive hand thud against his cheek, sending him crashing through several pews.

Link felt two monsters grab his arms and lift him up. He kicked away an approaching shadow beast in the face and flipped upward, twisting his way out of the monsters' grips. The Hylian from Ordon fastened his hands to his claw-shot gauntlets on the way down. He crossed his arms and fired the chains from both gauntlets, clutching the beasts holding his arms around their throats. Activating the retractors, the chains jerked the beasts' faces together, knocking them senseless.

The young hero aimed a claw-shot at the Master Sword. The device instantly retrieved the weapon, allowing him to wield his blade once more. He slashed the dazed beasts into oblivion. He charged spin attack after spin attack, mowing down shadow beast after shadow beast. As the monsters began giving him a circle of space just outside the blade's range, he put away the left claw-shot gauntlet holding his sword. Keeping the right handed gauntlet, Link fired a claw into a shadow beast perched like a spider to a wall. He let the chains pull him upward until he mounted the shadow beast like a horse.

While on the beast's back, Link felt the living black tendrils whip at him viciously, scratching his face. Putting away his remaining claw-shot gauntlet, he reached back and clobbered the back of the beast's head with his shield. With a slice of his sword, Link jumped off the dead shadow beast's body onto the catwalk he fell from. Upon landing, he sliced two more beasts in half.

He grabbed bombs from his backpack and slung them over his shoulder into the hungry crowd of shadow beasts. One caught a bomb in their mouth and swallowed it, exploding from within. The second bomb took out five more. Link's chances were looking up. He took aim with his bow and explosive arrows and let loose a flurry of bomb bursts, decimating their ranks. Several shadow beasts began jumping onto the walls and crawling their way toward the young warrior.

He saw about five shadow beasts along the floor jumping as high as they can but still failing to reach the catwalk. Putting away his bow, Link jumped from the catwalk. In midair, he tossed two bombs at the opposing walls, destroying the shadow beasts crawling along them. Link came down feet first onto the head of a monster in mid-jump. Flipping off of its head, he drew the Master Sword once again and slew a shadow beast straight down the middle. Letting out a scream, Link mowed down two more with a flipping slash between its golden, glowing eyes and a dropkick which led to him performing an ending blow directly into the final beast's heart.

His shouts echoed in the now empty but battle riddled sanctuary. Burns, bomb remnants and blood he shed pepper the floor. The room became bathed in the light of souls sustaining the shadow beasts' lives. Each echoed their gratitude before disappearing once more. Link grunted as he felt blood trickling down the side of his pants from the wound he suffered earlier in the fight.

Holding his side, he pulled out his last batch of red potion. Taking careful, pain-filled gulps, Link began to feel the effects patching up his wounded side and the cuts on his face. He still felt sore from the fight. Link blocked the pain from his mind as he marched forward with his sword and shield drawn. He entered the southern door directly under the catwalk.

Link ran down the dark fortress's underground corridors, twisting and turning for ten minutes, cutting his way through various remaining shadow beasts. Entering a circular stone-enclosed room, Link looked around as a solitary flame was surrounded by Koroy Okan's six crimson-cloaked brethren. He saw their hands up, holding orbs of dark energy. When the orbs were released, Link jumped to the side and rolled, dodging the attacks. He held up his shield, deflecting one orb back to its user. One of the priests was reduced to dust within an instant. All that was left was the soul of the man it originally consumed.

Link rolled forward and stabbed a crimson minister. He pulled it free to cut down another assailant, ending them both. He threw the Master Sword hard, sheathing it in the chests of two red-robed enemies. With his shield Link back-handed yet another priest. He pulled his blade free from the robes that formerly held the priests' bodies. With a shout and twirl, Link decapitated the final crimson minister, freeing the last of the delegates who refused to deal with Koroy Okan's dark god.

As if on cue, Koroy Okan appeared suddenly behind Link. "You impudent fool!" he shouted. Link turned to face him, only to be met with a punch in the face. The young man sailed through the air and slammed to the ground fifteen feet away. Link rolled onto his side, barely conscious and bleeding from the mouth.

"You are most coveted by my god," Koroy Okan said, "He says you are connected to a power beyond my understanding." He clutched Link by the ankle and slung him across the room, As Link rolled onto the floor in a heap, he said, "As you can see, I'm finding it difficult to believe."

Link got to his feet quickly and ducked under a backhand swipe, following up with a left uppercut into Koroy Okan's stomach and a right-cross up into his mouth, staggering him. Link drove a hard left-cross into the minister's face, dazing him slightly. He went for a kick but his foot was caught. Link flipped his other leg up, kicking Koroy Okan away. Landing on his feet, he rolled forward and snatched up his shield. He hurled it into the red-robed priest's legs, causing him to scream in agony. Koroy Okan fell to his knees, wailing in pain.

With his foot, the young hero kicked the Master Sword handle up into his hand. Link screamed out, "BELIEVE IT!" before slashing the final priest of the dark god diagonally.

As his body dissolved, Koroy Okan looked with grim, black eyes at Link. As the soul of the real Koroy Okan stood before him in bright lighted glory it said, "You're too late, Link. The dark lord is free…Elcia is dead…" With those last words, Koroy Okan faded into nothingness.

Narrowing his own sky-blue eyes at the words of the slain villain, Link picked up his shield and hurried back the way he came. Link navigated his way through the dark corridors back to the upper levels. As he exited the front door of the castle, the Deku Babas guarding the garden became agitated. Link struck down any attacking man-eating plants without breaking his stride.

He reached into his backpack and hurled a bomb at the front door. Stopping just far enough to keep the explosion from hurting him, Link watched as the front doors blew wide open. He had fastened Epona to a tree near the Chapel-Fortress and entered the rest of the way on foot to maintain the element of surprise. Mounting her quickly, he rode Epona like the wind back toward Elcia.

Or what he had hoped was Elcia.

* * *

Sassy, whose dead body is now filled to the brim with the energy of Koroy Okan's dark god, waited patiently in the burnt, smoldering ruins of Elcia. Occasionally she had heard the groaning of the dying. She ended their suffering with dark orbs vaporizing what remained of their charred, broken bodies.

Some structures still were aflame as the stars began fading, beginning the slow, inevitable concession to the dawn. The sun would not be far away. Of course, the dark lord feared if she would be able to sustain her power in the sunlight. She was a **dark** god, of course. She and light weren't exactly on great terms.

"Bah! What's keeping him?" Sassy said, stomping a foot on the ground, causing it to quake briefly. "Show yourself, boy! I haven't got all night!"

"My thoughts exactly," she heard, coming from several yards behind her. Hooves clomped on the ground, indicating to her that Link was on horseback.

She didn't even have to turn around when she said, "Link. It's so good to finally meet and then subsequently eat you."

"Not as good as it will be when I destroy you," he replied, pulling out the Master Sword. Turning around, Sassy smiled, evilly waiting to see the shock and despair on the hero's face. The only look of surprise came from the dark lord herself. "Surprised?" he said with a smile of his own, "I'm not. I figured anyone who'd be low enough to feast on children and destroy an entire town wouldn't be above inhabiting a lifeless body. You remind me of a guy I killed."

"Actually," she said, putting her hands to her hips, "I had originally intended for her to be my earthly bride when I came to be corporeal. Do you even understand how uncomfortable this is for me?"

"You feast on people to feed your hunger for power and control. You kill indiscriminately. You think nothing of destroying lives for your own sick pleasure. Cry me a river!"

Link spurred Epona forward, pushing her to top speed. He hopped onto the saddle and made a screaming jump with the Master Sword raised above his head. Link collided with the dark lord's outstretched hand. Air left his body as quickly as his sword left his hand. Link crumpled to the ground, clutching his chest.

"You really think you are a match for a god? A GOD?!" Sassy screamed grabbing Link by his throat and tossing him to the side. Sailing through the air, he crashed through the charred wall of a house thirty feet away.

* * *

He couldn't breathe. The burnt remains Link landed in made him choke. If he wasn't in enough pain, the debris was still hot to the touch. He stood up gingerly, trying to face his opponent. She was nowhere to be found. He stepped clear of the rubble and out into the street.

Suddenly, he felt something land behind him. He turned and threw his right fist forward, connecting with Sassy's face. It didn't budge, even though it was still flesh. He tried hitting it a couple of times more before feeling her palm slam into his chest. The force of the blow sent him to the ground, skidding twenty feet through the dirt.

Link fought through the pain in his chest and tried to keep breathing. He rolled out of the way of a dark energy orb. Getting to his feet quickly, he ran towards the still smoldering ruins of Elcia, dodging orb after orb fired from the dark lord's hands. Debris flew into the air, spraying Link's body with burnt wood as he ran.

He looked into the star-filled sky to see his opponent flying overhead. Ducking underneath a charred roof, Link tried to get his mind straight and remember where he lost the Master Sword. He crawled on his belly toward an open window and peered quickly from underneath the melted glass. With keen eyesight even in the dark of night, he spotted his weapon lying on the ground.

Link began wondering why it was so quiet. The dark lord inhabiting Sassy's corpse didn't make a sound; not even a threat or a jest. The eerie silence made him shiver as he tried to slow his mind down to form a plan. The sword was too far away for Link to use a claw-shot gauntlet; which meant he would have to run out and retrieve it. That presented a problem.

Sassy could fly, giving her the advantage should he come out of hiding. The minute Link made his presence known; she'd pick him off with an energy orb. He was pinned down and had nowhere to go. Pulling his bombs, bow and arrows out, the young hero fired an explosive arrow out of the window into a dilapidated house forty yards away. The charred ruins scattered everywhere in the subsequent explosion.

Hiding as best he can, Link waited to see if Sassy took the bait. Noticing her float toward the pieces of the exploded house remains, he fired off an exploding arrow directly into the back of the dark lord. The concussive impact of the explosion plowed her face-first into the ruins. Spotting his opening, Link sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him. He pulled his shield out and fastened it to his right arm.

The sword was within his grasp until he saw a dark energy orb barreling toward him. Link barely raised his shield in time to block the blast. The impact knocked him off of his feet and onto his back. He grunted, looking forward to see the dark lord walking toward him. Half of Sassy's skull was incinerated, leaving only the left side of her face intact. Her long red hair vanished along with her skin.

Link had no time to stare as he ducked underneath Sassy's hand reaching for his throat. He drove his shield into her face. The blow barely fazed her. He rolled under a right cross and reached for the Master Sword. Sassy caught him with a backhand, sending him airborne. With lightning-quick reflexes, Link fastened his left hand into a claw-shot gauntlet and fired at the bosom of the monstrous corpse. It connected, stopping his momentum but nearly tearing his arm from the socket. On the retraction, Link raised his shield and held his feet up behind it, still holding it in his right hand.

The young hero let go of the shield at the last second, kicking it hard into the dark god's cheste, staggering her. Leaping to his feet, he rolled to his left, picking up his sword and with a shout, sent a deep upward slash into the undead chest of the evil lord. She screamed in pain at the touch of the legendary weapon.

"The blade of evil's bane" she hissed holding her wounded chest, which leaked light as through it were blood, "Curse you boy...of all the souls I have consumed, yours will be most satisfying."

"Keep thinking that. Because after I kill you, I'll forget you in the second I sheathe my sword."

"But you'll never forget your failure here, will you?" Sassy grunted, holding her wounded, light smeared chest. "Curse me if you like, fool but you have saved no one. You merely ended their suffering. What you've done in the past day is the equivalent of putting down sick animals! You failed_, hero_!!! YOU FAILED!!!!"

"Elcia was doomed the minute you infested it with your evil. I don't think there's anything anyone could've done. The only thing to do now is avenge them and to make sure you never do this to anyone again."

"Good luck with that," Sassy said charging an energy orb in her right hand, preparing to fire at Link. With a spin attack, he swatted the orb away. Letting out a shout, Link thrusted the sword forward, impaling the dark lord through the chest. Her scream joined Link's, their echoes rivaling each other in the dead of night. She reached out her hand, grabbing his throat. Link twisted the blade, causing her grip to loosen.

Link's face sat stoic while he looked into the eyes of the dark lord. He pulled the sword out and stepped away. Light flowed, illuminating a twenty foot radius while the beast who had plagued Elcia for so long stood dying. "You think because you've slain me that you've truly won?" she groaned, dropping to her knees.

"Actually," Link said swinging his sword in a loop before sheathing it behind his back, "That's exactly what I think."

The young hero from Hyrule turned around and walked away from the rapidly decaying corpse of Sassy. The dying god faded, trying to speak but lacking the strength to curse Link's name. The barmaid who spent her youth lamenting dooming the town of Elcia to the reign of Koroy Okan and his evil lord of darkness vanished into nothingness. She died protecting the young man who would destroy the plague of darkness over the town.

With a whistle from his fingers, Link summoned Epona. As she galloped to his side, he grabbed the reins and swung himself onto the saddle. The sooner he left the charred, dead ruins of Elcia, the better. Link never looked back as he and his faithful steed Epona put the past day behind them.

"Rest in peace," were the only words Link had to say, as a tear ran down his cheek. With that, he yelled out, spurring his horse faster into the night, which slowly began to give way to the dawn.


End file.
